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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27151895">Overtime Conversations</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/anamaleth/pseuds/anamaleth'>anamaleth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Magnus Archives (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crying, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned Gertrude Robinson, Michael Shelley is non-binary (this has no significant bearing on the plot but they are)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:43:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,382</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27151895</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/anamaleth/pseuds/anamaleth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"I don’t…I don’t really remember what happened after that? All I remember is a flash of light, colourful, more than anything I had ever seen before, and then he was gone. And with him that door. I never saw him again. I don’t know what happened. I just don’t! All I know is that he’s gone!”</p>
<p>Gerry asks Michael why they work at the Institute; Michael opens up about the disappearance of their childhood friend following their encounter with The Distortion.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gerard Keay &amp; Michael Shelley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Overtime Conversations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=my+best+friend+mina">my best friend mina</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>!!!Content Warnings in the notes at the end!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Does "Michael and Gerry work at the institute at the same time and are around the same age" fit in the (already messy) canon timeline?<br/>Probably not! </p>
<p>But this AU is entirely centred around "They both got fucked over by Gertrude Robinson, they both deserved better, they both need a friend. Solution: they're friends now!"</p>
<p>Also: This fic was written for my best friend's birthday - happy birthday, starlight!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn't exactly <em>unusual </em>for Michael Shelly to work overtime: most of Gertrude's assignments took a lot of time to complete and they just didn't have it within in them to turn down her requests.</p>
<p>Besides, Michael didn't mind staying longer – they didn't have a place they were particularly looking forward to returning to.<br/>Being at the Institute, losing themself in work, looking out for their co-workers - all of that posed a welcome break from being alone at the tiny apartment they could barely afford in the first place.</p>
<p>Gerard Keay, however, well, he was a whole different deal.<br/>Gerard didn't <em>officially </em>work at the Institute.<br/>Not in the "I had a painfully awkward job interview here, signed a contract and am now getting paid to come here and complete tasks on weekdays" way, at least.</p>
<p>Sometimes he came to the Institute almost daily, sometimes stayed away for weeks at a time. </p>
<p>No one really knew what Gerard was doing when he was away, neither did they know when he was going to return.<br/>But they didn't bother asking him either. </p>
<p>When at the Institute, Gerard kept mostly to himself.<br/>It wasn’t that he was actively <em>avoiding </em>anyone, but the only person he reported to was Gertrude Robinson and apart from that, he didn't actively seek out conversations.<br/>At least as far as the employees of the Institute were concerned.<br/>There was one exception, but they didn’t know about that, too caught up in the mundanities of their own lives to notice.</p>
<p>Gerard never stayed at the Institute longer than he absolutely needed to, always keen to get away from the old building as soon as possible.<br/>Whether that was because of common sense, a general distaste for everything to do with the Archives or a combination of both didn’t really matter.<br/>The fact was, the chances of Gerard working overtime voluntarily were slim to none.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This night, however, voluntary overtime was exactly what he was doing.</p>
<p>He and Michael were standing next to each other, silently reorganising statements, following the orders Gertrude had given Michael.</p>
<p>Michael, way too selfless for their own good as they were, had insisted it would be<em> fine</em>, that they didn't need help.<br/>And yet, Gerard had asked them to allow him to help regardless.<br/>The smile on Gerry’s face when they had reluctantly agreed, Michael thought, was worth the discomfort of accepting help.</p>
<p>Despite the doubled workforce, it took the two of them quite some time to complete the task. </p>
<p>When they were finally done, it was late at night.<br/>Michael sighed heavily, closing their eyes as they leaned against the shelf they were standing on front of. </p>
<p>“I wouldn’t have been able to finish this so quickly without you,” they admitted quietly, “Thank you so much.”</p>
<p>Gerry simply smiled at them in return. </p>
<p>“You’re welcome.”</p>
<p>A comfortable silence settled between them, only broken by Michael’s affirmative humming in response to Gerry’s nonverbal inquiry if leaning against them would be alright - an exchange they’d seemingly had hundreds of times before.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Why do you work here, Michael?" Gerry asks eventually, and he could feel Michael tensing up beside him.<br/>“You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to, obviously,” he quickly adds “was just curious why someone like you would end up at a place like  <em> this </em>.”</p>
<p>Michael visibly relaxes at that, a smile now tugging at their lips. <br/>“What do you mean by that?”</p>
<p>“Well, you’re always looking out for everyone around you. Guess you seem more like you’d become a teacher or something.”</p>
<p>Their smile briefly falters at that, their expression shifting to something more sombre. <br/>“I did want to become a teacher at one point.”</p>
<p>“Really? What happened?”</p>
<p>“You wouldn’t want to hear it.”</p>
<p>“I mean, I did ask.”</p>
<p>Michael laughs slightly, but there’s no humour to it. <br/>“I suppose you did…Same reason why I started working here.”</p>
<p>A heavy silence fills the room. </p>
<p>“Sorry I asked.”</p>
<p>Michael pauses for a moment, pensively looking at the floor. <br/>“No! No, it’s alright. Just…just promise me you’re not going to laugh?”</p>
<p>“Of course! Why would I even-“</p>
<p>Gerry stops himself, not wanting to dismiss Michael’s fears.  </p>
<p>“Yeah. Promise.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Back when I was in school, there was someone named Ryan in my class.<br/>We had known each other for years but hadn’t talked much for most of that time.<br/>I can’t really remember when we started talking, but after a while, we became friends.<br/>I didn’t have to spend my breaks alone anymore, then, for a while.<br/>At one point, I heard one of my teachers call him schizophrenic when we left the classroom together.<br/>We weren’t meant to overhear that, I think, and I don’t know if he was?<br/>At the time I didn’t even know what the word meant.<br/>But the point is, he was always so afraid that the world wasn’t<em> real</em>.<br/>I always tried my best to assure him, help him, somehow, but in the end…”</p>
<p>Gerry looks at them with concern, places his hand on their shoulder. <br/>Even though Michael doesn’t say anything about it, Gerry knows they appreciate the gesture.</p>
<p>“We were walking home from school one day, and he noticed a door that he swore hadn’t been there before.<br/>When he looked at me, he seemed…scared? But not just that, he almost seemed<em> entranced</em>, somehow.<br/>Before I fully realised what was going on, he had already walked towards the door and turned the handle.<br/>I don’t…I don’t<em> really </em>remember what happened after that? </p>
<p>All I remember is a flash of light, colourful, more than anything I had ever seen before, and then he was gone. And with him that door.<br/>I never saw him again. I don’t know what happened. I just don’t!<br/>All I know is that he’s gone!”</p>
<p>Michael was talking faster now than they had been in the beginning, and they were rapidly moving their hands as they spoke.</p>
<p>"I tried to tell others about it, but no one believed me.<br/>I mean I- I...of course they didn't! How could they? It was absolutely ridiculous!<br/>No one in their right mind would have believed a child’s rambling about doors disappearing into thin air!<br/>They thought I ha-...thought I was-"<br/>They were choking out their words at this point, tears welling up in their eyes: "They thought I was crazy. Told me I had lost my mind."</p>
<p>“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Gerry tells them emphatically. “I believe you.”</p>
<p>“No one else did, though. Not my parents, not my teachers, none of the other students. No one.<br/>I had to hear them talk about me like<em> that </em>for so long that I almost started to believe them.<br/>I was alone and desperate, and then I came here. Gave my statement.<br/>Miss Robinson told me she was looking for a new assistant after I was done, and I had nowhere else to go, so I applied.<br/>And here I am.<br/>But, but still, no one believes that what I saw was, was true, and I just-...I-, I can't-"</p>
<p>Michael tries to suppress a sob and fails immediately; they can no longer stop the tears from rolling down their face.<br/>When Gerry offers them a hug, they don’t hesitate before stumbling forward, clinging onto him like a lifeline.</p>
<p>“Shhh. I’m here. I’m here, I’ve got you. Everything’s going to be okay, I’ve got you.”</p>
<p>Tears now flowing freely, Michael continues to hold onto him, trembling, while Gerry continues to quietly soothe them.<br/>They stay like this for a long time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gerry had known that he would eventually have to tell Michael about the true nature of Institute even before this had happened – Smirke, Leitner, The Entities, <em>everything</em>.<br/>And he would. <em>Eventually</em>.</p>
<p>But not tonight. Tonight he just holds Michael in his arms. <br/>He doesn't even think about letting go - neither when the sobbing stops after a while, nor when the two of them end up settling down on the small bed in the storage room, way too tired to go home.<br/>Gerry may not be able to protect Michael from all evil in the world, may not be able to make their trauma go away - but he can hold them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And just for a moment, both of them feel completely safe.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Content Warnings: Discussion of unreality; discussion of childhood trauma (watching a friend get taken by a supernatural entity); very brief mention of a mentioned character's possible schizophrenia (like in canon); character having an emotional breakdown</p></blockquote></div></div>
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